Northern Council
The Northern Council (Dundorfian: Nördlicher Rat; Kazulian: Nordrådet) is an economic, military and political alliance based on the principles of mutual cooperation, collective security and economic prosperity. The Northern Council was originally to be comprised of the following three (3) states as founding members: The Celestial Empire of Great Indrala, the Dorvish Republic (Dorvik) and the Federal Republic of Hutori. The organisation eventually expanded to include other states and is sometimes known as the Northern Council Treaty Organisation or by the acronym "NOCTO". Today, the Northern Council represents that largest and most powerful bloc of states in the world, namely Luthori, Hutori, Dorvik and Kazulia. The Northern Council's headquarters building is located in Bekenial, Hutori. History On December 13th 4053, the Northern Council Treaty was signed between Indrala, Dorvik and Hutori with the principle aim of forging cooperation in defence and economics between the three signatory nations mainly aimed at halting the vast expansionism of the Trigunian Empire. By joining together, if attacked the other nations would defend said nation militarily under a principle, streamlined command. This in turn created the Northern Council Treaty Organisation or "NOCTO". The organisation come to fruition of the height of tensions between the Northern Superpowers of Hutori and Trigunia, however collapsed at the fall of the Trigunian Empire and Hutori's assumed dominance in the Northern Hemisphere in 4130. In 4330, Kazulia ratified the Northern Council Treaty and immediately took the mantle of leadership in the organisation. Kazulia reshaped the Northern Council Treaty Organisation from the inside out, removing and installing systems of administration and thinking which had either not worked before or had proven to be effective from prior experiences. In 4340, the first meeting of the reformed Northern Council was held in the alliance's new headquarters in Bekenial, Hutori which saw the heads of state of Kazulia, Dorvik and Hutori discussing the sentiments of peace and stability in the Northern Hemisphere. Prior to the organisation's reforming, the Northern Council had served as an alliance with members in the Southern Hemisphere which had breached the Northern Council Treaty provisions, however through the work of the third Secretary-General of the alliance, Haakon Egeland, reforms had been made including membership requirements for joining the alliance with a paramount requirement being that a nation must be within the Northern Hemisphere or must have sea-borders with the recognised oceans of the Northern Hemisphere. Under Secretary-General Egeland the alliance expanded to include nations such as Lourenne, Luthori and members of the former Kerisian Defence Alliance (KEDA). Premise and purpose The Foundation and Principles of the Northern Council are Mutual cooperation; Collective security and Economic prosperity. These principles are core to the Northern Council and are paramount to the success of the organisation and its members. The Definitions of the Principles of the Northern Council are "Mutual cooperation" is defined as cooperating with fellow Northern Council members in economic, political, military and other ventures that would be mutually beneficial to all members; "Collective security" is defined as working together with members to provide for security and safety of member’s citizens, collective security is not always defined as direct military intervention but also humanitarian aid and supporting members combined with military aid if able to be provided and "Economic prosperity" is defined as mutually advantageous trade agreements between member states. Organisation and duties The Northern Council was organised into 4 primary organs, the General Council which was composed of heads of state, heads of government or other representatives appointed by the governments of the member states. The General Council is the overall leadership of the Northern Council. The General Council has authority to do whatever it feels is appropriate and proper to carry out and adhere to the principles of the Northern Council, has the authority of amending the articles of the Northern Council Treaty, authority to make agreements and resolutions based on consensus of the General Council. The Defence Council which was composed of Ministers of Defence, high-ranking military officials or other representatives appointed by the governments of member states. The Defence Council is responsible for operations and management of the “Collective security” principle of the Defence Council. The Finance and Economics Council which was composed of Ministers of Finance, high-ranking business officials or other representatives appointed by the governments of member states. The Finance and Economics Council was responsible for management and carrying out the “Economic prosperity” principle of the Northern Council. The Administrative Directorate which was organised as a multi-national civil service meant as a means to staff, organise and carry out day to day operations of the Northern Council. The Administrative Directorate was headed by an appointed Director with approval by the General Council. The Administrative Directorate was tasked with day-to-day operations of the Northern Council and was tasked with carrying out all directives by the General Council. Underneath the May 4337 reformation and re-organisation of the Northern Council, the new structure became more structured. The General Council would remain and would have "Permanent Representatives" as it's mainstay, it would remain a collective of heads of state, heads of government and foreign affairs representatives however each state would be required to appoint a "Permanent Representative" which would be a full-time ambassadorial representative to the Northern Council. The creation of the Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-General post which would chair and lead the General Council as a whole. The Finance and Economic's Council was transformed into the Finance and Economic's Committee and the creation of the Security and Intelligence Committee, each of them with an appointed Chairperson and different spheres of influence. The most notable creation of the new era of the Northern Council was the creation a joint military committee known as the Joint Headquarters, lead by the Chief of Staff of the Joint Headquarters. The Joint Headquarters provides leadership for multi-national exercises, cooperation of military and security operations as well as overall cooperation between member state armies. Joint Headquarters The Joint Headquarters (Dundorfian: Gemeinsames Hauptquartier; Kazulian: Felles hovedkontor) is the principle headquarters of the Northern Council's military structures. It consists of the multinational military formations of the Northern Council members ranging from ground forces to aerospace forces. Units assigned to the Joint Headquarters are assigned to their respective national commands, however, they are often assigned on a rotational basis to be deployed if necessary to assist with a Northern Council operation. Composition of the Joint Headquarters *Joint Headquarters (Chief of Staff of the Joint Headquarters) **Combined Forces Artania (COMFORART) ***Northern Artania Army Group ***Southern Artanian Army Group **Combined Forces Keris/Macon (COMFORKERMAC) ***Keris Army Group ***Macon Army Group **Combined Forces Dovani (COMFORDOVAN) ***Western Dovani Army Group ***Eastern Dovani Army Group **Combined Air Force Artania (COMAFART) ***1st Tactical Air Force ***2nd Tactical Air Force **Combined Air Force Keris/Macon (COMAFKERMAC) ***3rd Tactical Air Force ***4th Tactical Air Force **Combined Air Force Dovani (COMAFDOVAN) ***5th Tactical Air Force ***6th Tactical Air Force Leadership | | | | |} Membership Membership in the Northern Council is defined in Article 3 of the Northern Council Treaty. Section 1 states that "Membership in the Northern Council is open to all nations within the Northern Hemisphere, approval must be given by the General Council by consensus vote", Section 2 states "Membership in the Northern Council must be approved by two-thirds (2/3) of a prospective states national legislature with consenting signatures of required officials" and Section 3 states "Members of the Northern Council are expected to contribute to its operation, member states of the Northern Council must provide at minimum twenty-five million Lodamese dollars ($25m) every two years and must contribute in times of emergency when agreed by the General Council." To date, the membership of the Northern Council has contributed $7b LOD, with usual operating costs of the Northern Council at roughly $5m LOD per year to date, this figure is accurate as per Administrative Directorate reports in 4338. Current membership Category:International and party organizationsCategory:International bodies